Baby dragons hatched in factories, implant modifications and synergist addictions that accompany a lifetime, everything under the control of giant artificial intelligence, clear divisions between upper and lower worlds, temples, lower cities, factories, neighborhoods, priests, councillors, elders, commoners, self-functioning cities, corporate customized employees.

Talrond.

Kingdom of the "Dragon".

Everything here left a lasting impression on Gawain, even more than he had ever seen or heard since he first stepped out of the grave, and in just one day of excursions and visits, all his impressions of the Dragon Nation had been completely turned upside down.

All the mysterious, powerful, elegant, and majestic images of the dragons were shattered by reality, and the world built into the imagination of the bard and playwright fell apart, leaving only the wregs of the bizarre, a twisted and absurd impression, and countless thoughts and speculations.

In front of Talrond like this, the stories of knights slaying dragons with swords, dragons making contracts with heroes, castles and kingdoms and dragons at war suddenly became cute, even glowing with warmth.

Gawain seemed to suddenly understand why so many "travelers" from the dragon kingdom ran to the human world to become bards, composing so many bizarre dragon legends that were completely different from the facts, and understood why "upper dragons" like Melita would be bored enough to write a bunch of nonsense "Dragon Quest", and put his friends in it as prototypes.

He used to think these were boring and puzzling quirks, but now ...... He couldn't help but wonder if it might be some kind of nostalgia for the idyllic life that the dragons once had, without relying on synergists and implants, without artificial intelligence and autonomous cities—or just some kind of beautiful imagination.

The Extreme Arena, one of Argondol's several large arenas, is in the midst of a "competitive game" that Amber and Veronica seem incomprehensible to.

It was an ellipsoidal three-dimensional arena - a large number of sturdy alloy materials and high-strength polymer shells formed the shape of a "giant egg", in which twelve giant dragons competed for a symbol of honor called the "Ring of Champions", and those dragons who participated in the competition had completely exceeded the impression of "dragons" by Gawain and others.

They boldly used a large number of external implants, covering the bones with bones and skin from the skin, alloy armor and turbo spraying devices to make the original flesh and blood look like strange flying machines, and they scrambled, fought, and even fought in the Dome - except for the prohibition of the use of high-powered dragon breath and magical attacks, this so-called "competitive game" allowed for almost any form and degree of hand-to-hand combat, and the hand-to-hand combat of dragons ...... Utterly devastating in the eyes of humanity.

One of the participating black dragons was eliminated, he was besieged by his opponent in mid-air, after a savage and brutal fight and fighting, he was almost torn to pieces and thrown off, his wings, limbs and torso were torn apart, those heavy wreckage fell to the alloy floor at the bottom of the "Competitive Dome", the fracture flickered with dazzling arcane sparks and uncontrolled frost, flames, and lightning, his chest cavity cracked, a still functioning heart fell out, and the closure device failed to work in time, A hot, shimmering liquid gushes from the black dragon's body—more oil and synergists than blood.

A rescue team rushed into the arena and quickly recovered the torso of the black dragon with its head attached, while the remaining wreckage was thrown directly on the field.

There were huge boos from the audience, as if 10,000 thunderbolts were exploding inside and outside the arena, numbers jumped on the scoreboard above the arena, and the losers left the game in the form of scores.

Gawain, Amber, and Veronica sat in the "senior seat" at the very front outside the arena, watching the competition in amazement, Melita and Noretta were right next to them, and they seemed to be completely immersed in the game, until the only remaining team members on the field managed to rush to the static force field where the championship ring was placed, successfully took out the ring and activated it, they were greatly relieved, and suddenly returned to the "real world".

"The black dragon that was eliminated just now is going to lose a lot!" Melita exclaimed, "He's pretty much got to replace all the parts he had to replace—hopefully he's covered with insurance." ”

"He shouldn't have tried to grapple with three opponents at the same time - being surrounded was over immediately, the black dragon was not good at dealing with attacks from behind, especially with an extra layer of joint armor on his spine...... I don't know what to think. ”

"It's just that there are too many synergists," Melita shrugged, "and I'm hallucinating that I'm the best in the world." ”

“…… Reasonable. ”

The two dragon friends were discussing the game that had just ended, but even Amber, who was usually the most chattering, didn't seem to have any intention of interjecting at this time.

It wasn't until more than ten seconds later that Melita seemed to suddenly realize something, she hurriedly turned her gaze and glanced at Gawain and the three of them apologetically: "Ah-sorry, we accidentally got too involved......"

Gawain didn't know what to do, and for some reason, he remembered the first time he saw Melita Pernia—the elegant and mysterious woman in a purple gauze dress and a lilac veil who had visited at night, but this image was quickly shattered by the almost deafening roar in the arena.

There was only one Miss Blue Dragon in front of him, who was enthusiastic about watching the gladiatorial competition.

"It's okay," Gawain shook his head, "I can see you guys like this." ”

"Actually, I don't like it that much - it's still a bit too noisy for me," Melita smiled a little awkwardly, "but once you get into this atmosphere, you can't help but be affected by the emotions around you...... Actually, I don't usually watch this. ”

Norretta, who was on the side, noticed that Gawain and the others didn't seem to be interested in this arena: "The competition here is for you...... Isn't it boring? ”

"It's just a little ...... Well, that's a bit too exciting," Amber finally spoke, her hair scratching at her face with an embarrassed and impolite smile on her face, "Isn't this a bit too bloody as a competitive game?" ”

"Well, that might seem a little out of line with human aesthetics...... It was our mistake," Melita bowed her head sincerely, "Extreme sports is a pastime that has only recently become popular in Talrond, and we are too eager to show you something 'relatively new' in this land. ”

"Let's get out of this place first," Gawain said casually, and glanced up in the direction of the arena for the last time - there was already a team in charge of finishing up the field, starting to clean up the discarded parts and stumps and broken arms in that place, and starting to clean the oil and blood all over the ground with some kind of large cleaning machinery, and there were some teams that looked like small teams guarding the exits under the Dome, and Gawain saw one of the teams come forward to hand over to the staff, Loaded the scrapped parts and living biological tissue recovered from the arena into the car," ...... This place is a bit too noisy. ”

In the night, blue and white dragons rose into the air again, hovering above the Extreme Arena.

Gawain looked down from this height and saw that the "dome" made of alloys and high-strength polymers was being illuminated by countless lights inside and outside, and the massive steel support structures and intricate streets around the arena were entangled and spread like twigs intertwined into a nest.

The noisy roars and the rousing music all turned into a faint hum in the distance, and the irritability that weighed down on his heart gradually faded away, and the competitive arena had some beauty in Gawain's eyes.

Like a lighted crystal egg, it lies quietly in a nest made of metal and cement, filled with blood, oil, and steel.

It was Tallund who "laid" the egg...... So what gave birth to Tallund what it is today? The dragons who reveled around the arena...... Are they intoxicated by the, or are they intoxicated by the intoxication itself?

Gawain's thoughts spread uncontrollably for some reason, until Melita's voice suddenly sounded, waking him up from his thoughts like a low thunderclap: "Still thinking about that arena just now? I'm sorry...... Now that I think about it, Norretta and I are only interested in showing you the 'complete Talrond', but we have not taken into account Loren's human aesthetics and worldview, in fact, there are some things that are seriously not in line with human preferences that should not be shown to you. ”

"No, I didn't care about that," Gawain shook his head, "I was just thinking about something else. ”

"That's good," Melita seemed relieved, then shook her head, "Actually, Noreta and I are both a little ...... Too excited, few dragons have the opportunity to visit Tallund in the open with a visitor like you...... Hopefully, the things we're so eager to present to you don't make you feel bad. ”

Gawain immediately laughed: "That's not true, in fact, I'm pretty ...... Delighted. ”

He wasn't really polite, but he did feel new and interesting about this trip to Talrond, and aside from the occasional deep reflection and anxiety about the situation behind Talrond, this eye-opening trip was even a surprise to him - after all, he didn't wait until Cyber X 2077 in his last life......

This trip is a dream come true.

Norretta, of course, didn't know what was really going on in Gawain's mind, and she obviously felt that the other party's words were polite, so she could only reply with an awkward but polite laugh.

The brightly lit earth of Talrond quickly receded to the awkward laughter of Miss Blue Dragon, and gradually retreated into the deepest part of the night.

In the next two days, Melita and Norreta became the "full-time guides" of Gawain and others.

Under the leadership of the two dragon ladies, Gawain, Amber and Veronica visited almost every corner of the metropolis of Argondol, and even visited the two nearby cities and the factory cluster located in the coastal area, and after the first day of shock and surprise, Gawain and the others also calmed down, and began to really visit this strange world for them in an almost touristy mood.

Amber seemed very happy - although she had no idea what was going on with these dragons, who were nothing different from the legends, she had obviously given up on the problem, and on the condition of relaxing, she began to enjoy the courtesy of the dragons and the pleasures of sightseeing.

Even Veronica showed her curiosity and began to approach the journey as a tourist and a "scholar", actively chatting with her new dragons, asking about the customs of Talrond, or borrowing some Omega-translated texts from Melita to try to understand the dragons' cultural changes and legends - everyone could tell that she was really enjoying it, rather than wearing a mask of eternal peace and a smile as usual.

But Gawain knew that this "visit" was not the whole story of his trip to Tallund, but the really important part of the trip...... It's still a meeting with the dragon god Enya.

He didn't wait long.

On the fourth day of his arrival in Talrond, the high-ranking dragon priest with golden vertical eyes and a serious temperament appeared in front of him again - at this time, Gawain and Melita were looking down on the scenery from a certain mountain peak outside the city of Argondol, and there were lights and stars in Talrond under the night sky, and a large aurora curtain was formed in the sky, which is difficult to see in the human world, and the dragon priest appeared directly from the night sky, as if using some kind of teleportation technology.

"My lord would like to have a private meeting with you." Hageor came to Gawain and conveyed the will of the dragon god Enya.

"Meet alone?" Amber, who was watching the scenery from the side, came over in surprise, "You won't take us this time?" ”

"I beg your pardon," said Hragore, smiling at Amber as if he could maintain the most perfect demeanor for all, "this is my lord's will. ”

Amber and the narrator's Veronica immediately frowned slightly, but Gawain was not surprised by the situation, in fact, he had been wondering when this moment would come since yesterday - he smiled and said to Hragore, "Then it seems that he is finally going to talk to me about something more in-depth." When do we depart? ”

"If it's convenient for you, you can do it now," said Hragore at once, "I can take you directly to the Upper Temple. ”

Gawain thought for a moment, reached out and took out the mechanical watch he was carrying, pressed the lid of the watch to look at the time on it, and then put away the watch and nodded to Hellagore: "It's convenient for me - it's just the right time." ”

Hagere's gaze lingered on Gawain's mechanical watch for a moment, but he quickly looked away and took a step forward, he opened his hands slightly, and a pale golden halo appeared out of thin air, completely enveloping the area where Gawain was: "Then, let me take you for a ride." ”

In the next second, the pale golden halo suddenly expanded, turning into a beam of light connecting heaven and earth, and after the beam dissipated, Gao Wen and this high-ranking dragon priest had disappeared in front of the others.

(End of chapter)